Glossary

The 90th percentile summarizes the slower end of included response times. Learn the calculation, method choices, and why component percentiles cannot be added.

A 911 hang-up is a disconnected emergency communication recorded for follow-up or assessment. Learn why the label does not prove an emergency, prank, or accidental dial.

An abandoned 911 call ends before the defined answering or call-handling stage. Learn how to distinguish a telephone metric from a CAD hang-up event.

An abandoned vehicle meets locally defined abandonment criteria. Learn why a complaint, a disabled car, a parking violation, and a tow are different records.

Accreditation is formal recognition that an organization has met the requirements of a particular accrediting program through its assessment process.

An activity log records selected agency work. Learn why service calls, patrol actions, and investigative activity cannot automatically be counted as crimes.

The Activity Map is Civic Informer's geographic view of selected public-safety records in a supported edition.

Actual staffing is the number of employees or full-time-equivalent positions filled under a source's stated rules at a specified time.

Advanced life support identifies an expanded level of emergency medical capability; its appearance in a log does not establish a diagnosis or procedure.

An after-action report (AAR) is a structured review of an incident or exercise that identifies what happened, what worked, and what needs improvement.

An agency partnership is a documented working relationship between Civic Informer and a public-safety agency for an agreed purpose and scope.

An agency profile is a reference summary about a public-safety organization, including its identity, responsibilities, service area, and available sources.

Aggravated assault has specific weapon and injury criteria in crime reporting. Learn why its statistical definition differs from a local criminal charge.

Aggregation combines records into totals or other summaries. See how grouping rules, counting units, and denominators affect the result.

Aid given records assistance an agency supplies to another organization. It describes the supplying agency’s activity, not necessarily a new incident.

Aid received describes outside assistance supplied to an agency. Counts need to distinguish incidents, departments, and responding units.

An alarm level describes a fire department response assignment, not a universal measure of fire size or damage.

An alarm response follows a system or reported alarm notification. Learn why a response does not establish a confirmed burglary, fire, or false alarm.

An ambulance is a vehicle equipped and staffed for patient care and transport. A dispatch does not mean a patient was transported.

Ambulance offload delay concerns transfer of patient care at a receiving facility. Learn why elapsed offload time, excess time, and turnaround are different.

The American Community Survey estimates community characteristics. Learn how one-year and five-year ACS data differ from the decennial census.

An animal complaint requests attention to an animal-related concern. Learn why the label does not establish cruelty, a dangerous-animal finding, or the responsible agency.

Animal control is a public service responsible for specified animal-related safety, enforcement, and welfare functions under local and state rules.

Annexation is a legal action adding territory to a municipality or another eligible jurisdiction under applicable law.

An annual report is an organization's summary of its work, resources, and selected results for a stated year.

An arrest is a law-enforcement action placing a person in custody under legal authority. Learn why it differs from a stop, booking, charge, and conviction.

An arrest rate relates arrest events to a stated population and scale. Learn why it is different from conviction, clearance, or individual risk.

An arrest report documents an arrest and associated details. Learn how it differs from an incident report, booking record, and court disposition.

Arson is a defined fire-setting offense. Learn why a fire report, suspected cause, and undetermined cause do not by themselves establish that offense.

Assist citizen is a broad local service category for helping a member of the public. Learn why it does not identify a particular procedure or establish a crime.

Assist other agency records support supplied to another organization. Learn why assistance is different from a referral, a transfer, or a second underlying incident.

An attempted offense is recorded as an attempt under the reporting rules. Learn why attempted crime differs from an unconfirmed or unfounded report.

Authorized strength is the number of positions an agency is approved to have under a specified budget, staffing plan, or other governing authorization.

Automatic aid sends outside resources under a standing response agreement. Learn how it differs from requested mutual aid.

Automatic location identification (ALI) is a 911-system feature that automatically presents location information associated with a call to the answering center.

Automatic number identification (ANI) is a telephone-system feature that provides the calling telephone number to a 911 answering center.

Automatic vehicle location reports response-vehicle positions to dispatch systems. Learn how AVL differs from unit status, caller location, and an arrival timestamp.

Learn why older incident totals can increase when historical records are added, and how to distinguish backfill from a new event or estimate.

A baseline is a clearly stated reference value or period for measuring change. Learn how its selection affects comparisons and differs from a goal.

Basic life support describes a level of emergency medical care and capability. The permitted skills and staffing depend on local licensing and protocols.

A fire-service battalion groups stations, companies, or resources for supervision and coordination. Its size and boundaries are locally defined.

A beat is a defined patrol area used for police assignments and reporting. Learn how it differs from a neighborhood, district, or dispatch zone.

A behavioral health crisis involves an urgent need for support or assessment. Learn why a public-safety call label is not a diagnosis or crime finding.

A benchmark is a stated reference used to compare performance. Its source and measurement rules determine whether the comparison is fair.

A bias incident is reported prejudice-related conduct, often distinguished from a criminal hate crime. Local definitions determine what the label includes.

A block-level location identifies an approximate street block. Learn why it is different from an exact address or a Census Bureau block.

Booking is the administrative process of recording a person's admission into a detention facility or processing system.

Boundary changes can alter the population and incidents included in a place. Learn how to compare totals when the mapped area changes.

A burglar alarm signals possible unauthorized entry or activity. Learn what the call category means and why it does not confirm a burglary.

Burglary concerns unlawful entry into a building or structure for a specified criminal purpose. Force and a completed theft are not always required.

A call for service records a request or public-safety activity. Learn why call totals differ from 911 calls, police reports, and crimes.

A call log summarizes recorded public-safety requests or dispatch activity. Learn its coverage limits and how it differs from a police report or call recording.

A call number identifies a dispatch event. Learn how to use it without confusing it with a case number, a phone number, or a count of incidents.

Call priority is an agency’s urgency classification for a public-safety request. Priority codes differ locally and are not measured response times.

A call taker gathers information from people requesting public-safety help. Learn how that role differs from dispatch and appears in a call record.

A call type identifies the reported reason for a public-safety response. Learn how original and final types differ from offenses and dispositions.

Call volume counts contacts or dispatch events under stated rules. Learn why it differs from incident totals, unique callers, and responding units.

Call-answering time measures the wait to reach a call-taker. Learn how it differs from dispatch and responder arrival, and which calls a metric includes.

Call-processing time covers a defined stage of handling an emergency request. Learn which endpoints matter and how it differs from answering and travel time.

Campus police are a police organization serving an educational institution under authority established by applicable law.

A canceled call records that a request or response assignment was stopped. Learn why unit cancellation differs from canceling an entire incident or finding no emergency.

Canceled en route means a response ended while the unit was traveling to the scene. Learn what the label does and does not say about the underlying incident.

A case number identifies an agency case or report. Learn why it may differ from a CAD number, temporary submission number, or court docket number.

Causation is a relationship in which a change in one factor produces a change in another.

A census block is a small geographic unit used by the Census Bureau for tabulating data.

A census block group is a statistical division of a census tract made up of census blocks.

A census tract is a small statistical subdivision used by the Census Bureau to organize and publish information about population and other characteristics.

A census-designated place is a named unincorporated community used for statistics, not an incorporated city or a public-safety provider.

A centroid is a calculated center of a geographic shape. Learn why it can appear outside the shape and why it is not an incident address.

A criminal charge is a formal accusation that a person committed an offense under applicable law.

A choropleth map shades areas by a value such as a rate or percentage. Learn how legends, denominators, and boundaries shape its meaning.

A citation is an official notice alleging a violation or requiring a response through a stated process. Learn why a citation is different from a warning or conviction.

A citizen complaint is a complaint made by a member of the public about police conduct or service under an agency's complaint process.

A city launch request is a resident's expression of interest in Civic Informer reporting for their area.

A Civic Informer edition is a community-specific publishing service that presents public-safety reporting from records released by the community's participating agencies.

A civil matter concerns a private legal dispute or noncriminal responsibility. Learn what a police-record civil label establishes and why it does not decide ownership or liability.

A civil standby is an officer’s presence during a civil interaction to help keep the peace. The label does not establish property rights or a crime.

A civilian fire casualty is a person outside the fire department who is injured or killed as a result of a fire under the applicable reporting rules.

Civilian oversight is review of law-enforcement conduct, policy, or accountability by people or bodies outside the agency's ordinary sworn command structure.

A civilian police employee is a police-agency worker who is classified outside the source's sworn-officer category.

Clearance is a crime-reporting outcome based on arrest or exceptional criteria. It differs from administrative case closure and conviction.

Clearance by arrest is a UCR reporting outcome involving arrest, charging, and referral for prosecution. It is distinct from conviction and arrest totals.

Clearance rate compares qualifying clearances with reported offenses under a stated method. Earlier-year cases can affect the percentage, even above 100%.

A closed case has a local administrative status. Closure does not automatically mean an offense was cleared, a suspect was convicted, or no crime occurred.

A codebook explains a dataset's fields, category codes, and missing values. Learn why the correct version matters when reading public-safety records.

Community paramedicine extends EMS work into defined community health programs. Learn how it differs from emergency transport and varies by local program.

Community policing emphasizes partnerships and problem solving. Learn how the philosophy differs from one outreach event or a specific deployment plan.

A community profile is a reference page that brings together information about a place, such as population, reported public-safety statistics, and the agencies serving it.

Community risk reduction uses local evidence and coordinated action to reduce hazards and their effects through prevention and other services.

A completed offense has completed status under the statistical rules. It does not mean the investigation is closed or a defendant was convicted.

CompStat is a police-management process that uses timely information, analysis, regular review, and responsibility for follow-through to address crime and operational problems.

Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) helps public-safety staff record requests, assign units, and track responses. Learn how to read a CAD record.

Concurrent calls overlap in time. Learn how they affect emergency-resource availability and how to interpret overlap statistics.

A confidence interval is a range calculated around an estimate using a method designed to capture the unknown population value at a stated long-run rate.

Confined fire has a specific historical NFIRS meaning. Learn why a fire limited to one room or object does not automatically qualify for that category.

A consent decree is a negotiated resolution entered by a court as an enforceable court order.

A consolidated city-county is a governmental arrangement combining city and county functions under a specific legal structure.

Consolidated dispatch is a shared communications arrangement in which one center or organization provides dispatch functions for multiple agencies or jurisdictions.

Contract policing is an arrangement in which a government or other authorized entity obtains specified law-enforcement services from another agency through an agreement.

A conviction is a court determination that a defendant is guilty of an offense.

A coroner is an official responsible for investigating specified deaths under the law of the relevant jurisdiction.

Correlation is a statistical relationship in which two measured variables tend to change together.

A county is a major legal subdivision of a state in U.S.

A county equivalent is an area the Census Bureau treats at the county geographic level even though it does not have the ordinary county form.

A court disposition is the recorded resolution of a court proceeding or charge, such as dismissal, acquittal, or conviction.

A coverage gap is an absent agency, period, place, or record category. Learn why missing coverage cannot be treated as zero activity.

Crime analysis is the systematic collection, preparation, examination, and communication of crime-related information to understand patterns and support decisions.

Crime Data Explorer is the FBI website for accessing UCR statistics. Learn how to distinguish submitted data, estimates, filters, and coverage.

A crime rate relates a defined crime count to a matching population and period. Learn the calculation and why rates are not individual risk predictions.

Crimes against persons is a NIBRS grouping for offenses whose victims are individuals. Learn why this grouping differs from violent-crime totals and incident counts.

Crimes against property is a NIBRS grouping for offenses involving property or benefit interests. Learn why it can include robbery and differs from a narrow property-crime total.

Crimes against society is a NIBRS grouping for specified prohibited activities. Learn why a society victim record is not a count of people or a claim that conduct causes no harm.

The Daily Report is Civic Informer's dated summary of public-safety records for a community with a supported edition.

Data completeness measures whether expected records and fields are present. Learn why a populated table can still be incomplete for a particular question.

A data dictionary explains fields, codes, units, and missing values so public-safety records can be interpreted correctly.

Data freshness describes how current information is. Learn why a recent page update does not mean the records describe recent events.

Data provenance records where information came from and how it changed. Learn how it helps trace a public-safety statistic back to its source.

Data quality describes whether information is suitable for a particular use. Learn how accuracy, completeness, consistency, and timing affect public reports.

Data suppression withholds selected values or records under a stated rule. Learn why suppressed cells differ from zero, unknown, and missing values.

Data validation checks records against stated rules. Learn what passing a check establishes, what it cannot prove, and why flagged values need review.

Daytime population estimates people present during the day. Learn the Census commuter-adjusted calculation and its limits for service comparisons.

De-identification reduces links between records and people. Understand why removing names or masking a location does not guarantee anonymity.

The decennial census counts the population every ten years. Learn its reference date and why a census count differs from a current population estimate.

Understand deduplication, why repeated incident numbers are not always errors, and how matching rules affect public-safety counts.

A disabled vehicle cannot proceed normally and may need assistance. Learn why a disabled-vehicle call does not establish a crash, abandonment, or violation.

Disaggregation reveals the groups inside a total. Learn how to read breakdowns by place, time, or category without overstating what they show.

Disorderly conduct is a legal and reporting category for specified disruptive behavior. Learn why a disturbance call does not establish this offense.

Dispatch is the assignment and coordination of response resources. Learn how dispatch differs from answering a call, travel, and arrival.

A dispatch center coordinates response resources. Understand its relationship to a 911 answering point and a shared emergency communications center.

A dispatch narrative contains notes entered as a request develops. Learn how to distinguish reported information, later updates, and a completed investigative report.

Dispatch time can mean a recorded clock time or an interval before assignment. Learn how to identify the field and avoid comparing different measures.

A dispatch zone organizes response communications or assignments for a geographic area. Learn why it may differ from a police beat or legal jurisdiction.

A dispatched call is a request or event assigned to response resources. Learn why dispatch totals differ from incoming 911 calls and confirmed incidents.

A disposition records how a call or case was handled. Its meaning depends on the record system and differs from a court outcome or UCR clearance.

A disposition code is a shorthand outcome label in a call or case record. Use the correct agency codebook and distinguish codes from official totals.

Disturbance is a broad local call category for reported disruptive activity. Learn why a dispatch label does not establish disorderly conduct, violence, or any specific charge.

Domestic disturbance is a local call category involving a reported household or relationship conflict. Learn why it differs from a confirmed offense or a court finding.

Domestic violence describes abuse within qualifying relationships. Learn how relationship flags, criminal offenses, and disturbance calls differ.

Driving under the influence describes impaired-driving offenses. Learn how DUI records differ from traffic stops, drug offenses, and convictions.

A drug offense records prohibited drug-related conduct. Understand possession, distribution, equipment categories, and limits of police totals.

A duplicate call is an additional record or report associated with an event already logged. Learn why duplicates are not necessarily false reports or simple data errors.

An effective response force is the personnel and capabilities needed for defined incident tasks. Learn why it differs from first arrival or a vehicle count.

An electronic patient care report documents an EMS encounter digitally. Learn how it differs from dispatch logs, public extracts, and hospital records.

Embezzlement is the unlawful taking for one's own use of money or property that had been entrusted to one's care or control.

An emergency call requests immediate public-safety assistance. Learn how the reported urgency differs from a 911 contact, dispatch priority, and the eventual outcome.

An emergency communications center receives and processes public-safety requests and may dispatch responders. Learn what ECC identifies in agency records.

An emergency declaration activates specified government authorities or assistance. Learn why local, state, and federal declarations have different effects.

An emergency management agency is an organization responsible for coordinating emergency-management functions such as preparedness, mitigation, response support, and recovery.

EMAC is a framework for emergency assistance between member states and territories. Learn how it differs from local mutual aid and federal assistance.

Emergency medical dispatch uses structured assessment and protocols to support callers and select an appropriate medical response.

An EMR is an EMS clinician level focused on immediate care. Learn how the role differs from EMT and paramedic levels and from a unit’s recorded capability.

Emergency medical services is the coordinated system for emergency medical response and care, extending beyond ambulance transport.

An EMT is an EMS clinician working within an authorized scope of practice. Learn how the role differs from a paramedic, an ambulance, and a care outcome.

An emergency operations center supports incident coordination and resources. Learn how an EOC differs from a dispatch center and on-scene command.

An Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) explains how a jurisdiction or organization will coordinate responsibilities, resources, and actions during emergencies.

An emergency services Internet Protocol network (ESInet) is a managed communications network used to carry emergency-services communications.

An EMS agency is an organization authorized to provide specified emergency medical services within a particular system.

An EMS incident is an event involving emergency medical services. Learn why incident totals differ from unit responses, patients, and transports.

Understand EMS transport, how a patient trip differs from a response, and why several responding units do not necessarily mean several transports.

Enhanced 911 supplies callback and location information with a 911 call. Learn what E911 adds and why the displayed location still needs interpretation.

Estimated crime uses a documented statistical method to infer totals or rates. Learn why estimates differ from submitted counts and forecasts.

An evacuation order is an official direction to leave a specified area because of an emergency threat.

An evacuation warning is an official notice that an area may need to evacuate because of a developing threat.

Exceptional clearance requires specific investigative conditions and a qualifying barrier to arrest and prosecution. It is not a general closed-case label.

Extortion is unlawfully obtaining something of value through threats, coercion, or misuse of authority.

Extrication is freeing or removing a person who is trapped, such as in a damaged vehicle, machinery, or a confined space.

A false alarm is an alarm classified under specific rules as not indicating the event it was intended to detect. Learn why that does not automatically imply deliberate misuse.

FIPS codes identify areas such as states and counties. Learn how code length, leading zeros, geographic scope, and Census identifiers affect data matching.

A final call type is the later dispatch classification retained for a call. Understand why final does not mean a court finding or a verified crime.

Fire apparatus means fire-service vehicles and their specialized equipment. Fleet size, staffing, and response activity are different measures.

A fire authority is an organization established to govern or provide fire protection and related services under a particular law or agreement.

Fire cause explains how ignition occurred. Learn how it differs from the location of origin, a dispatch description, and a finding of criminal responsibility.

Fire containment describes the extent to which established control lines are expected to prevent a wildfire from spreading.

A fire department is an organization providing fire protection and related services within a defined service arrangement.

An FDID identifies a department within a state in historical NFIRS records. Learn why state context, leading zeros, and separate NERIS IDs matter.

A fire district is a governmental district or legally defined service arrangement established for fire protection and related functions under applicable state law.

A fire engine is a pumping vehicle carrying firefighting equipment. Engine response counts describe resource activity, not necessarily fires.

A fire incident is an event recorded by a fire service. Learn why dataset scope matters and why fire-service activity can include non-fire events.

Fire loss is an estimate of damage, often covering property and contents. Learn why it differs from insured payouts, total property value, and incident counts.

A fire report documents an incident and recorded findings. Learn how basic incident reports differ from investigation reports and public summaries.

A fire station is a facility housing response resources or operations. A station count does not establish staffing, vehicle availability, or agency count.

A firefighter casualty is a firefighter injury or death counted under a specified reporting program.

The first-arriving unit is the earliest qualifying resource recorded on scene. Learn why it may differ from the first-dispatched or first-due unit.

A first-due area identifies an ordinary initial-response assignment. Learn why its boundary differs from a guarantee of arrival order or exclusive jurisdiction.

Found property is an item located and reported or delivered to an agency. Learn why finding, holding, ownership, and evidence status are separate facts.

Fraud involves deception used to obtain a benefit under specified offense definitions. Learn how a report differs from proof of intent, a contract dispute, and recorded losses.

The federal Freedom of Information Act provides access to federal agency records. Learn its scope and how it differs from state public-records laws.

Full-time equivalent (FTE) is a staffing unit that expresses work or assigned capacity relative to one full-time schedule.

Geocoding turns an address or place description into a map location. Learn why a successful match can still be approximate.

A geographic identifier is a code that identifies a defined geographic entity within a data system.

A geographic information system connects records with locations for mapping and analysis. Learn what GIS adds and why source quality still matters.

Gone on arrival means the reported subject or condition was absent when responders arrived, under local coding rules. Learn what GOA can and cannot establish.

Good intent call is a historical fire-reporting category. Learn why it does not mean a malicious false report or prove that a response was unnecessary.

A Group A offense receives detailed NIBRS incident reporting. Learn why Group A differs from felony status, SRS categories, and arrest counts.

A Group B offense is generally reported to NIBRS through arrest information. Learn why its counts cannot be treated as complete incident totals.

A hate crime combines a criminal offense with qualifying bias motivation. Understand the distinction from bias incidents and ordinary anger.

Hazardous condition describes a reported danger, often without fire. Learn why the source category, confirmation status, and specific hazard matter.

A hazardous materials incident involves a suspected or actual hazardous-substance problem requiring assessment or response. A dispatch label does not prove exposure.

A heat map shows concentration or intensity using color. Learn why its appearance depends on radius, scale, weights, and the records included.

The hierarchy rule generally selects one qualifying SRS offense in a multiple-offense incident. Learn its exceptions and effect on comparisons.

A highway patrol is a law-enforcement organization with a major roadway-safety role. Its additional duties and authority vary by state.

Hit-and-run concerns leaving a collision in circumstances potentially violating applicable duties. Learn why the label does not establish who caused the crash or a court outcome.

Homicide concerns one person’s death caused by another, with different medical and crime-reporting meanings. Learn why homicide is not automatically murder or a finding of guilt.

Hospital turnaround time describes a defined interval at a receiving facility. Learn how it differs from patient offload time and a unit’s return to service.

A hot spot is an area of concentrated activity under a stated method. Learn how it differs from a bright map color or a prediction of individual risk.

Human trafficking is exploitation that involves compelling a person to provide labor or services or engage in commercial sex through prohibited coercive means.

Identity theft concerns misuse of identifying information. Learn how the crime category differs from fraud, a data breach, and a financial loss.

An improvement plan turns findings from an exercise, incident review, or assessment into assigned corrective actions.

An inactive case has investigative work paused or classified as inactive under local rules. Learn why inactive does not necessarily mean solved, unfounded, or permanently closed.

An incident is an event recorded by an agency. Its meaning and counting rules depend on whether the source is dispatch, a report, or crime statistics.

An incident action plan (IAP) states incident objectives and the actions, organization, and resources intended to accomplish them for a defined operational period.

The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized way to organize management of an incident, including objectives, leadership, personnel, resources, and communications.

An incident commander is the person assigned overall responsibility for managing an incident within the applicable authority and command structure.

An incident count measures distinct qualifying events. Learn why it differs from rows, calls, offenses, victims, and related report records.

An incident report documents a reported or investigated event. Learn what it records, how it can change, and why it does not establish guilt.

Incident-based reporting retains details linked to individual events. Learn why it differs from summary totals and does not make every row an incident.

An incorporated place is a legally established place, such as a city or town, recognized under the applicable state framework and Census geography rules.

An independent city is a city that is legally separate from county organization in the relevant state framework.

The initial call type records the first dispatch category for a request. Learn why it may differ from the final type or a confirmed offense.

An interlocal agreement is an agreement between public entities defining a shared undertaking, service, or cooperative responsibility under applicable law.

Internal affairs is an agency function that receives, reviews, investigates, or oversees allegations about employee conduct under the agency's procedures.

Intimidation has a specific meaning in NIBRS crime statistics. Learn how threatening conduct differs from assault and from a jurisdiction’s legal charges.

Jurisdiction describes legal authority, including its geographic and subject limits. It is different from an agency’s routine service area.

Justifiable homicide is a narrowly defined reporting classification for certain lawful killings of a person committing a serious criminal offense.

Keep the peace describes a local service purpose of preventing or reducing conflict. Learn why the phrase does not itself settle a dispute or establish an arrest.

Kidnapping is unlawful seizure, transportation, or detention of a person against their will.

A ladder truck carries an aerial ladder or platform and related equipment. Its role and staffing follow the department’s response plan.

Larceny-theft is an unlawful taking of property under crime-reporting rules. Learn its subtypes and differences from robbery, burglary, and vehicle theft.

LEMAS is a federal survey of law-enforcement agencies. Learn what its staffing and policy measures describe and how they differ from crime statistics.

Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) is an FBI data collection concerning qualifying law-enforcement officers killed or assaulted.

A law-enforcement agency is an organization with legally assigned enforcement responsibilities. Agency type, jurisdiction, and reporting coverage are separate facts.

A lift assist is help moving or raising a person. The label does not establish that there was no injury, medical need, or further assessment.

Location masking changes or generalizes geographic detail for privacy. Learn how to interpret a masked point without treating it as an exact address.

Lost property records belongings reported missing without an established theft finding. Learn how a loss report differs from theft, found property, and later recovery.

A margin of error describes sampling uncertainty around an estimate at a stated confidence level.

A mass-casualty incident (MCI) is an event whose patient needs exceed the capacity of the usual available medical resources and procedures.

The mean divides the sum of values by the observation count. Learn how extremes, missing values, and group weights affect a reported average.

The median identifies the middle of ordered values. Learn the even-sample calculation, its difference from the mean, and limits on combining medians.

Medical assist describes medical-related assistance under local rules. Learn the historical NFIRS 311 supporting role and its limits in current data.

A medical examiner is an official, typically a physician, responsible for investigating specified deaths and making findings under the jurisdiction's death-investigation system.

Medical first response brings initial medical capability to a scene, often before the transporting ambulance arrives.

Metadata explains a dataset's source, period, fields, and processing. Learn how it helps readers interpret a public report and distinguish different update dates.

Minimum staffing is the lowest staffing level an agency requires or plans for a defined shift, unit, facility, or function under its policy.

Missing data means a value or record is unavailable. Learn how blanks differ from zero, not applicable, suppressed values, and incomplete reporting.

A missing person is reported as having unknown whereabouts under applicable criteria. Learn why a report differs from an alert, a crime finding, or a unique-person count.

A mobile data terminal (MDT) is a computer device used by field personnel to exchange information with dispatch or other agency systems.

The Morning Email is an email presentation of a Civic Informer edition's public-safety summary.

Motor vehicle theft concerns taking a vehicle itself, rather than property from it. Learn the reporting distinctions, recovery limits, and vehicle-based counting rule.

A move-up relocates a response unit to maintain coverage while other resources are committed or unavailable.

A municipal boundary is the legal geographic limit of a municipality at a particular time.

A municipality is a legally organized local government whose form, powers, and responsibilities come from applicable state law.

Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter is an FBI reporting category for willful killings under program rules. Learn how it differs from other homicide records and state charges.

Mutual aid brings resources from another organization to an emergency. Learn how requests, agreements, and activity counts differ.

A mutual aid agreement sets terms for organizations to share resources, including requests, responsibilities, and reimbursement.

The National Crime Victimization Survey measures specified nonfatal victimization, including events not reported to police. Learn its scope and limits.

NEMSIS supports shared EMS data definitions, exchange, and a national database. Learn how versions, reporting units, and coverage affect its use.

NERIS is the national fire-service incident reporting and analysis system succeeding NFIRS. Understand its role, identifiers, and limits of public data.

NFIRS is the legacy national fire-incident reporting system. Historical NFIRS records remain useful, while 2026 incident reporting moved to NERIS.

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is the U.S.

NIBRS collects detailed crime-incident information within the FBI’s UCR Program. Learn what a record represents and why coverage and counting units matter.

Negligent manslaughter, in the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), is the unlawful killing of another person through negligence.

A neighborhood is a locally recognized area within or around a community, often identified by shared history, development, institutions, or a familiar name.

A NERIS ID identifies an entity in the national fire-service reporting system. It is distinct from a legacy FDID, local incident number, or service-area code.

A NERIS incident type classifies the event described in a fire-service report. It differs from the initial dispatch reason and legacy NFIRS codes.

Next Generation 911 uses IP networks to support emergency communications and data exchange. Learn what NG911 means without assuming every feature is available locally.

An NFIRS incident type classifies events in a historical reporting system. Learn how it differs from dispatch labels, actions, and NERIS reporting.

No action required is a local handling outcome indicating no further action was considered necessary at that stage. Learn why it does not mean nothing happened.

No patient found means the responding crew did not locate a patient. Learn why it differs from refusal, cancellation, and proof that no emergency occurred.

No report taken indicates that the specified written report was not produced under local rules. Learn why the call can still have a dispatch record and a documented response.

A noise complaint requests attention to sound believed to be disruptive or contrary to local rules. Learn why the request is different from a verified ordinance violation.

A non-emergency call requests service without an identified need for immediate emergency assistance. Learn why it can still result in a police report or dispatch.

Normalization can standardize dates, units, categories, or comparison bases. Learn why the exact transformation must be explained.

Not applicable means a field does not fit the event or measure. Learn how N/A differs from zero, unknown, not recorded, and not reported.

Occurrence date identifies when an event happened or was estimated to happen. Learn how it differs from report and publication dates in a trend chart.

An offense is a violation classified under a specified legal or statistical system. Learn why offense counts differ from calls, incidents, people, and charges.

An offense code maps a recorded event to a defined crime category. Learn why code systems, versions, and charging statutes must be distinguished.

An offense count measures qualifying offenses under specified scoring rules. Learn why it differs from incident totals and raw offense-record rows.

Officer-initiated activity begins with an officer’s observation or action. Learn how it differs from public requests and affects call totals.

An officer-involved shooting is a firearm event involving law enforcement under a source's stated definition.

Officers per 1,000 residents is a population-based staffing ratio. It does not show patrol strength on a shift or establish an ideal staffing level.

On-scene time measures a defined interval at an incident location. Learn how unit time, patient contact, and the first-arrival-to-last-clear span differ.

Open data is made available for access and reuse with usable formats and clear terms. Learn why open does not mean complete, current, or unrestricted in detail.

An open investigation remains under investigation or open in an agency’s case system. Learn why the status does not establish daily activity, guilt, or eventual charges.

An operational period is the time interval set for carrying out a particular set of incident actions and objectives.

An Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) identifies an agency in FBI criminal-justice systems. It differs from an incident number or geographic identifier.

Out of service means a resource is unavailable for normal assignment under the applicable status rules; it does not necessarily mean broken.

An outcome measure tracks a result or change that a program or organization seeks to influence, such as improved access, reduced harm, or changes in people's experience.

An outlier is an unusually distant observation. Learn why it requires investigation and why deleting it without a documented reason can mislead.

An output measure counts or describes the products and services an organization delivers, such as completed inspections, published reports, or people receiving a service.

An overdose call is a request or response for a suspected overdose. Learn why dispatch labels differ from confirmed poisonings, hospital visits, and overdose deaths.

Overhaul is the work firefighters perform after initial fire suppression to locate and extinguish remaining fire, including fire hidden in concealed spaces.

Overtime is work or compensation classified beyond an applicable regular-hours threshold under law, an employment agreement, or agency payroll rules.

Overtime hours are employee work hours classified as overtime under the source's applicable payroll or labor rules.

Package theft is the reported taking of a delivered parcel. Learn why delivery status, location, and reporting rules determine what the record can establish.

A paramedic is an emergency medical services clinician with an advanced level of education and authorized practice for assessing and caring for patients outside a hospital.

A parking complaint requests attention to a vehicle’s parking or obstruction. Learn why it is different from a verified violation, a citation, or an impound.

A Part I offense is an offense in the major-crime grouping used by the FBI's historical Summary Reporting System (SRS).

A Part II offense is an offense in the FBI Summary Reporting System's grouping outside Part I.

Partial-year reporting means fewer than all months are represented. Learn why incomplete totals cannot be compared directly with complete annual counts.

A patient care report documents an EMS encounter, assessment, care, and response. Learn why it differs from an incident count, transport, or invoice.

Patient refusal can involve evaluation, care, or transport. Learn what the EMS label establishes and why it does not explain a person’s reasons.

Peer comparison uses agencies or places selected for relevant similarities. Learn why population size and rates alone do not establish comparability.

Per capita means per person. Learn how population-based rates are calculated and why a community average is not an individual risk estimate.

Percentage change measures movement relative to a starting value. Learn the formula, zero-base limitation, and difference from percentage points.

Percentage-point change subtracts one percentage from another. Learn why it differs from relative percentage change, record counts, and rate units.

A percentile describes a position in ordered data. Learn why calculation methods, ties, sample size, and eligibility matter for response intervals.

A performance measure is a defined indicator used to track work, service quality, progress, or results against a purpose or goal.

Personally identifiable information can identify someone directly or through linked details. Learn what PII means when reading public-safety records.

Plain-language radio communication replaces unexplained codes with clear words. Learn how it supports coordination and differs from unencrypted radio.

A police blotter summarizes agency activity for public reading. Its selection and release rules make it different from a complete incident or crime dataset.

A police department provides law-enforcement services. Its legal authority, staffing, service area, and reporting scope need separate definitions.

A police report documents an event, investigation, or action. Learn why a report is different from a call log, a criminal charge, or proof of every statement it contains.

A population denominator is the population base used to calculate a rate. Learn how its geography, year, and source affect public-safety comparisons.

Population density divides population by area. Learn the calculation, why land-area units matter, and what an area-wide average cannot show.

A population estimate describes an area's population using a stated method and date. Learn why estimate versions matter when calculating rates.

Population served describes an agency’s documented population coverage. Learn why it can differ from county population, callers, or people present.

A primary service provider is the organization identified as the usual responsible provider for a specified service and area under documented arrangements.

Proactive policing refers to strategies intended to prevent or reduce crime and disorder through police initiative, rather than focusing mainly on responding after events occur.

Problem-oriented policing is an approach that identifies recurring public-safety problems, analyzes their underlying conditions, develops a response, and assesses the result.

Property crime is a source-defined offense grouping. Learn which offenses are included and why robbery, arson, and broader property categories need care.

Provisional data is an early release subject to revision. Learn how to read preliminary totals and why recent periods may be incomplete.

A public information officer (PIO) is the person assigned to coordinate information for the public and news media on behalf of an organization or incident.

A public record is government-related recorded information covered by the applicable records law. Public status does not guarantee unrestricted release.

A public records request asks an agency for existing records under the applicable law. Clear record types, dates, and scope help identify what is sought.

A public safety answering point (PSAP) receives 911 communications and arranges or transfers the response. Answering and dispatch are distinct functions.

A public safety telecommunicator receives requests, processes information, or dispatches response resources. Understand the role without assuming a universal job structure.

A public-safety agency provides defined services such as policing, fire protection, or EMS. Learn how its role differs from a jurisdiction or service area.

A public-safety dashboard is a visual interface presenting selected measures about public-safety activity, resources, or results.

Publication date tells when information was released. Learn why it differs from the period covered, the event date, and a later revision date.

Publication delay measures the interval before information becomes public. Learn why its start point matters and why it differs from response time.

Queue time measures waiting between specified workflow events. Learn why a dispatch queue differs from the wait for a 911 call to be answered.

Rank is an ordered position within a defined set. Learn why ranks do not show gap sizes, can change with the comparison set, and need context.

Rape is a sexual-offense classification involving specified penetration without consent, including circumstances in which a person cannot consent.

A rate per 100,000 residents equals count divided by population, multiplied by 100,000. The scale works for small communities and is not a percentage.

Reactive policing is police work organized primarily around responding to reported incidents, requests for service, or crimes that have already occurred.

Learn what reclassification means when an incident category changes, why historical counts may move, and what the change does not establish.

A records custodian is the official or office responsible for particular records. Learn why the right custodian depends on the record being sought.

A records exemption is a legal basis for withholding specified information. Learn how it differs from a missing record or a retention rule.

A records management system (RMS) stores and manages police reports and related records. Learn how RMS data differs from dispatch and public releases.

A records retention schedule sets how long records are kept and their authorized disposition. Learn why it differs from a website's available history.

Redaction removes protected information from a released record. Learn how it differs from missing data, withheld records, and statistical suppression.

Referred to another agency records a handoff or direction for further handling. Learn why it does not establish that the receiving organization completed the work.

Report date identifies when information was reported or filed. Learn why it can differ from the event date and change the meaning of monthly totals.

Report taken is a local call outcome indicating a written report was prepared or initiated. Learn why it is not a crime finding or an official report total by itself.

Reported crime is crime captured by a specified reporting source. Learn why reports, recorded offenses, convictions, and all crime are different measures.

A reporting agency supplies records to a data program. Learn why it may differ from the responder, geographic area, or agency serving a resident.

Reporting coverage describes which agencies, residents, places, and months a dataset represents. High participation alone does not establish complete data.

Reporting lag is the delay between a defined event and its recording, submission, or publication. The endpoints determine what the delay means.

Reporting participation describes whether an agency supplied data to a program for a period. Learn why enrollment, complete coverage, and zero crime differ.

The reporting party is the person who brings an event or concern to an agency. Learn why RP does not automatically mean victim, witness, or suspect.

A rescue company is a fire-service team assigned rescue capabilities, often using specialized equipment. Its exact duties depend on the department.

Resident population counts people assigned to an area under residence rules. Learn how it differs from visitors, households, and daytime presence.

Resource availability describes whether suitable crews and equipment are ready for assignment at a particular time.

Resource typing is defining and grouping incident resources by their capabilities using an identified standard.

Response count depends on whether a report counts units, assignments, or another record. Learn why responses, incidents, and patients can differ.

Response time is an elapsed interval between defined milestones. Compare dispatch, turnout, travel, and total time before interpreting a performance figure.

A response-time objective states a target interval, the responses it covers, and how often the target should be met.

Revised data incorporates changes after an earlier release. Learn how corrections, late records, and method changes affect historical comparisons.

Revision date identifies when information changed. Learn why it does not necessarily mean new events were added or all records were reviewed.

Robbery involves taking or attempting to take property through force or threat. Learn how crime-reporting definitions distinguish it from burglary and theft.

A rolling average summarizes successive windows of observations. Learn how window length, placement, missing data, and revisions affect the line.

Seasonality is recurring calendar-related variation. Learn how it differs from a trend and why one unusual period does not establish a pattern.

A service area is where an organization provides a defined service. It may differ from city limits, legal jurisdiction, or a statistical boundary.

A service call is an assistance category in fire records. Learn how it differs from a call for service, a fire, and a count of all department activity.

A service-level objective defines the result a public-safety service aims to achieve, including its measure, scope, and target.

Sexual assault is a broad term for sexual acts prohibited by law because they occur without consent, including when a person cannot consent.

Shelter in place is a protective action directing people to seek or remain in a suitable nearby location instead of traveling through a threatened area.

A sheriff’s office may provide patrol, investigations, court services, or jail functions. Learn why its duties and service area vary.

Shoplifting is a retail-theft classification for merchandise exposed for sale. Learn how the FBI category differs from employee theft, burglary, and a store’s loss estimate.

Simple assault is a defined assault category without the qualifying dangerous-weapon or severe-injury factors for aggravated assault. Learn why simple does not mean harmless.

Small-number volatility makes rates and percentages swing sharply when only a few events change. Read counts, denominators, and longer context together.

The source agency is the organization from which records originate or are supplied. Learn how it differs from a website host or dashboard publisher.

Special-jurisdiction police serve a defined institution, property, or function. Learn how campus, transit, and other agencies differ in scope.

A staging area is a designated location where available personnel, equipment, or other resources wait for operational assignment during an incident.

Stalking concerns a course of conduct directed at a person. Learn how a reported concern, an applicable legal definition, and a court finding differ.

State police is a state-level law-enforcement organization. Its duties, local-service role, and authority depend on the state.

Statistical significance means that a result meets a stated threshold in a statistical test under that test's assumptions.

A stolen property offense concerns unlawful handling of property known to be stolen, such as receiving, possessing, buying, or selling it.

A strike team is an organized group of a specified number of resources of the same kind and type, with common communications and a leader.

Understand structure fires, how they differ from confirmed building damage and dispatch reports, and why counts depend on the reporting definition.

Summary reporting provides aggregate counts for a period or group. Learn what detail a total preserves, what it loses, and how to compare it.

The Summary Reporting System is the UCR aggregate reporting framework. Learn how its counts differ from detailed NIBRS incident data.

A supplemental report adds information to an existing case. Learn how it changes the record without necessarily creating a new incident or replacing the first report.

A suspect is a person considered potentially involved in an offense. Learn why the designation differs from a suspicious-person call, an arrest, a charge, and guilt.

Suspicious activity is a report of conduct that raised concern. In a dispatch log, the label is not a confirmed crime or a finding about a person.

Suspicious person is a call category based on reported concern about someone’s actions. Learn why the label is not an offense, suspect finding, or proof of wrongdoing.

Suspicious vehicle is a local call category for reported concern involving a vehicle. Learn how it differs from a stolen vehicle, traffic violation, or identified suspect.

A sworn officer is a law-enforcement employee who holds the legally conferred officer status and powers applicable to the position.

A task force, in incident management, is a combination of resources assembled for a particular operational need, with common communications and a designated leader.

Technical rescue is rescue work requiring specialized skills, equipment, or capabilities beyond routine assistance.

A ten-code is a short radio code beginning with “10” that stands for a message under a particular communications codebook.

Text-to-911 lets people contact a supported emergency center by text. Learn what a text session represents in records and why availability must be checked locally.

Theft from motor vehicle concerns property taken from a vehicle, rather than the vehicle itself. Learn how attached parts, state burglary labels, and combined offenses differ.

Total response time needs explicit start and end points. Learn how call handling, turnout, travel, and first arrival affect the meaning of the total.

A township is a geographic or governmental subdivision whose meaning depends on the state and source.

A traffic collision is a motor-vehicle crash recorded under a stated reporting system. Learn why crash counts differ from vehicles, people injured, dispatches, and fault findings.

A traffic hazard is a reported condition that may obstruct or endanger roadway travel. Learn how hazard requests differ from crashes, violations, and completed clearance.

A traffic stop records a police contact with a vehicle. Learn why stop totals differ from tickets, searches, arrests, and the number of distinct drivers.

A transferred call is passed to another answering position, center, or service. Learn what the transfer records and why it does not establish a response outcome.

Understand emergency-service travel time, the timestamps behind it, and its difference from the full wait for help.

Treat and release describes care without transport by the responding service. Learn how it differs from refusal, no treatment, and transfer to another crew.

A trend describes a longer pattern across comparable observations. Learn how seasonality, selected dates, and reporting changes affect interpretation.

A trespass complaint reports concern about someone’s presence on property. Learn why the request differs from a warning, a charge, or proof of unlawful entry.

Triage is the process of assessing and prioritizing patients according to urgency and the resources available in a particular care setting.

Tribal police are law-enforcement organizations operated by tribal governments. Their authority and service arrangements require tribal-specific context.

What turnout time measures, how it differs from travel time, and why notification and en-route timestamps matter.

Unable to locate records that responders did not find a specified person, vehicle, or condition. Learn why UTL does not establish that the original report was false.

Under control is an operational incident status. It does not necessarily mean every hazard is gone, every crew has left, or a building is safe to enter.

Undetermined fire cause means the record does not establish a more specific cause. Learn how it differs from accidental, suspicious, and under investigation.

An unfounded report is classified under stated rules as not being the reported offense. Learn why unfounded differs from an unsolved case or a deliberately false report.

Unified command lets agencies with shared responsibilities coordinate an incident. Learn how it differs from one agency taking over all others’ authority.

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program collects law-enforcement statistics. Understand its relationship to NIBRS, local records, and published estimates.

An unincorporated area is territory outside incorporated municipal boundaries in the relevant jurisdiction.

Unit available time marks readiness for another response. Learn why it can differ from scene departure, hospital handoff, and return to a station.

Unit clear time records a resource’s completion or release milestone. Learn how it differs from incident closure, case clearance, and availability.

A unit identifier labels a response resource in dispatch records. Learn why a call sign is different from an employee number, vehicle ID, or event number.

Unit status records a response resource’s operational state, such as assigned or on scene. Learn how it differs from incident status and what timestamps can establish.

A unit-hour measures one resource for one hour. Learn how staffed hours differ from time committed to calls, personnel hours, and incident counts.

Unit-hour utilization can measure ambulance transports per available hour or the share of time units are busy. Learn the difference.

Unreported crime is criminal activity absent from the specified reporting source. Learn how surveys study nonreporting and what police data cannot establish.

Unwanted person is a local call label for a request about someone’s presence. Learn why the label alone establishes neither trespass nor authority to remove a person.

Use of force is physical force applied by law enforcement in an encounter, as defined by the relevant policy, law, or reporting system.

A vacancy rate is the share of positions in a defined staffing base that are unfilled at a stated time.

Vandalism is a property-damage classification. Learn why recorded damage, a graffiti call, a loss estimate, and a confirmed offense are different facts.

Vegetation fires involve grass, brush, trees, or other plant material. Learn why incident counts, burned area, and wildfire classifications differ.

A vehicle fire identifies the property involved, not the cause. Learn how vehicle types, collisions, and multiple response records affect fire totals.

Learn what a victim record represents and why victim totals differ from incidents, reporting-party counts, and legal definitions of victims’ rights.

A victimization rate relates victimization events to the covered population or households. Learn why repeated experiences differ from unique victims.

Violent crime is a statistical grouping whose offenses depend on the source. Compare the FBI’s four-category measure with victimization-survey coverage.

A warning records an advisory or enforcement response. Learn how warnings differ from citations, Miranda warnings, and findings that no violation occurred.

A weapon law violation concerns prohibited weapons conduct. Learn why it differs from a weapon being present or used in another offense.

A welfare check is a response to concern about someone’s well-being. The call label does not establish a medical diagnosis, crime, or final outcome.

The wildland-urban interface is where development meets or mixes with wildland vegetation. Learn how to interpret WUI maps and their limits.

A witness may have relevant information about an event. Learn why a police-record witness need not be a courtroom witness or have seen the entire incident.

Working fire is an operational description of a fire requiring active firefighting. It is not a universal alarm level or damage category.

Workload describes the amount of work an agency or resource handles. Counts, time, complexity, and overlapping demand reveal different parts of it.

A year-over-year comparison uses the corresponding prior-year period. Learn how matching dates, definitions, and coverage affect the result.

Year-to-date totals cover a reporting year through a stated cutoff. Learn how to compare matching periods and distinguish YTD from a full year.

A zero report affirmatively reports no qualifying activity for a period. Learn why it differs from missing data, an empty extract, or no recorded crime.

A ZIP Code is a U.S.

A ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) is a Census Bureau statistical area that approximates the geographic distribution associated with a postal ZIP Code.